On 7 June, the Oregon State Lottery (OSL) announced that it signed a contract with supplier SBTech in order to bring land-based and mobile betting to the Beaver State.
This contract will allow SBTech to power the OSL’s online and land-based sports betting offerings.
The OSL aims to launch sports betting operations in September, which coincides with the start of National Football League (NFL) regular season.
Initially, the OSL will launch its mobile betting platform which will be followed with land-based betting kiosks which are likely to be in place in early 2020.
The Oregon State Lottery and SBTech
Last year, the Oregon Lottery Commission (OLC) received several bids from companies that wanted to power the OSL sports betting operation.
In April, the OLC selected SBTech to power the OSL sports betting platform. Scientific Games and PlayTech were among the companies considered by the OLC.
When the commission selected SBTech, the Lottery Commission’s RFP Team said that SBTech was selected due to its experience in product design and its ability to meet the lottery’s deadlines.
The RFP team said: “With (SBTech’s) innovative features and capabilities, the OSL can compete with black market operators effectively with a solid go-to-market strategy and positioning itself very well at launch.”
Is sports betting legal in Oregon?
Prior to the introduction of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), Oregon, Nevada, Montana and Delaware already offered a form of legal sports betting. The existing sports betting laws were ‘grandfathered’ in under PASPA allowing Oregon, and the other states, to continue to offer sports betting even after PASPA became law in 1992.
Oregon’s sports betting offering came in the form of its Sports Action parlay game which was shut down in 2007 due to a lack of interest.
For the financial year ending 30 June 2018, the OSL generated $1.3bn in revenue supporting the lottery’s claim that it could generate more than $30m in its first full year of mobile sports betting.
The lottery expects to raise an additional $27m once it launches its land-based betting offering. There also plans to relaunch the Sports Action game which could raise $10m in revenue for the lottery.
If the OSL’s sportsbook launch goes as planned, residents in the state will be able to place legal sports wagers in time for the 2019 NFL season.
